BlackBerry Storm2 Coming to Verizon Wireless Oct. 28

By Michelle Maisto |
Posted 2009-10-26

Following Vodafone's Oct. 15 announcement, Verizon Wireless announced that
it, too, will offer Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone beginning
Oct. 28. The smartphone will be priced, after a $100 mail-in rebate, at $179.99
with a two-year contract.

The Storm2 is a fully touch-screen device with a 3.25-inch high-resolution
display with a resolution of 480 by 360 pixels and 184 pixels per inch. It
offers 3G, 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, as well as voice calling
in 220 countries, data access in 185 and 3G in 80 of those. It's compatible
with EV-DO Rev. A, 2,100MHz UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks, and
it features SurePress technology, which is said to make the experience of
typing on the touch screen both easy and very much like typing on a true
keyboard.

The original Storm, RIM's first touch-screen device, was roundly criticized,
and in response RIM not only added the Wi-Fi connectivity but improved
SurePress, threw in a 2GB memory card and updated the Storm2 to BlackBerry OS
5.0, which is said to offer better typing accuracy, usability and visual
enhancements, and more use of animation.

Ken Dulaney, with Gartner, isn't so impressed with the upgrade, believing the
Storm2 still faces many of the Storm's issues-"RIM has done about what
they could do to improve things without changing the hardware," Dulaney
told eWEEK-while Ken Hyers, with Technology Business Research, believes the
device faces "an uphill slog" against the iPhone, while still feeling hopeful
about its overall chances.

"I believe that Verizon will provide considerable promotional backing to
the Storm2 and that RIM is likely to see the Storm2 turn out to be one of RIM's
biggest sellers to date," Hyers told eWEEK after the Vodafone
announcement. "The device provides the clearest bridge between the
corporate and consumer world of any BlackBerry yet and will prove very popular
with customers this holiday season."

The Storm2 additionally features 256MB of flash memory, a 3.2-megapixel camera
with auto-focus and video capabilities, a media player for videos, pictures and
music, a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and built-in GPS
for location-based applications such as Verizon's VZ Navigator.

It also can be used as a modem to a laptop, using Verizon Wireless' Broadband
Connect tethering service. Its battery offers 5.5 hours of talk time or up to
11.2 days of standby, and data plans start at $29.99 a month when added to a
nationwide voice plan.